Starcrossed
by TheWallflowerGirl2207
Summary: Marlene McKinnon has never understood how Sirius Black has managed to entangle himself in her life so tightly. Their relationship was a tragedy in the making; burning too brightly and ending too quickly, so when she moves on in to the arms of Gideon Prewitt it's not surprising that fate would not let them part so easily.
1. Chapter One

_**Order of the Phoenix Headquarters, June 1981**_

"Dead?"

The word rang out in the room like an echo; the weight it carried hit him like a blow to the stomach, knocking the wind out of his lungs.

"Yes." answered Mad-Eye gruffly. "She was the last one."

Sirius heard a small sob to his right and wasn't surprised to see James with his head in his hands; his wide shoulders shaking. He never took the deaths very well.

Mad-Eye let out a grunt of sorts and made his way out the room, Sirius could hear the sharp thud of his walking stick get quieter and quieter as he disappeared down the corridor, suddenly there was a loud crack followed by silence. He wondered if he had disapparated to whoever else he had to inform, however that thought was cut short by the gut-wrenching realisation that there was no one. The McKinnons were dead.

The stunned silence that had previously filled the room slowly turned to a painful awkwardness as no-one knew what to say to each other, some sat in quiet tears, others simply stared at their feet. Sirius kept fiddling with the thick silver ring on his middle finger, twisting it back and forth.

"Alright, mate?" Remus asked James, his own voice raw with emotion, he placed a shaky hand on the back of his neck.

"Yeah." James sniffed, lifting his head and rubbing his eyes with his fist. "Yeah, m'alright."

"Bit of a shock." Peter said quietly. "How are you, Padfoot?"

"Me?" Sirius asked, trying to keep his voice level, raised an eyebrow and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. "I'm fine."

"Well, you know, with you having _dated_ back in the day-" Peter continued, his voice hardly louder than a whisper.

"Said I'm fine, Wormy." Sirius cut him off sharply, lighting his cigarette and taking a deep drag, his body relaxing as the smoke filled his lungs. "It was a long time ago, anyway."

Sirius could feel James' hazel eyes burning into the side of his face. He blew the smoke out from between his parted lips and let it momentarily cloud his vision of the room, if he tried hard enough, he could pretend the blurred figure opposite him was her.

Peter nodded. "Still, never easy losing someone you know."

"No." James said quietly, his eyes still fixed on Sirius. "It isn't."

Quickly, Sirius jumped to his feet, muttered some excuse about fresh air and made his way out of the room.

As he burst out of the back door of the house and in to the small garden, he felt tears spring to his eyes as the warm summer air washed over him. The world felt like it was spinning around him, his legs began to buckle as his stomach threw its limited contents up into the plant pot perched beside him.

 _Dead._

Everything in him screamed that it couldn't be. _How could Marlene McKinnon be dead?_

"Padfoot?"

Sirius felt a strong arm wrap around his middle and pull him on to a nearby bench, carefully placing him down. His knees ached from where they had hit the concrete not long before as he struggled to calm his breathing.

"Merlin's beard, mate-." James frowned.

"I'm fine." Sirius insisted weakly.

"Clearly." James huffed, taking a seat beside him.

"Piss off."

Both men smiled slightly but before Sirius could stop himself, a small sob erupted from his chest. The same arm that had carried him to the bench now wrapped itself around his shoulders and pulled him into a rough hug. They both sat in silence for what felt like hours, clinging tightly to one another as they cried.

"What are you going to do?" James sighed finally, pulling away. His hazel eyes were red and puffy behind his round glasses. Sirius wiped a tear from his own cheek with the cuff of his sleeve.

"Nothing, I can do." Sirius sniffed, his eyes travelled down to the faint scars adorning his right hand. "I made an Unbreakable Vow, it doesn't leave me with much choice."

James shook his head. "The Vow would have broken when she- when she-."

"It still stands." Sirius said firmly. "I made a promise, magic or no magic."

James nodded slowly, taking his words in. "Still can't believe you let her talk you in to it."

"We were drunk." Sirius shrugged, brushing his hair out of his face with a shaky hand.

"Anyway, no point now is there?"

"I s'pose not." James answered with a frown. "Aren't you gonna tell Moony and Wormtail at least?"

"I can't." Sirius replied, his expression suddenly became hard. "You and I are the only people who can ever know about what happened."

James opened his mouth to say something, but Sirius cut him off quickly. "Lily can't know either."

James looked uneasy. "I don't like lying to her, Pads."

"It's not lying, Prongs." Sirius corrected him, he scanned over his friend's uncomfortable face and felt a small pang of guilt at what he was asking him to do. "Please, for me mate."

James nodded slowly. "Sure. But I need something from you in return."

"What's that?"

"Explain to me how you ended up in this fucking mess."


	2. Chapter Two

_**Hogwarts, July 1977**_

"Morning."

Marlene yawned loudly as Sirius slipped on to the bench beside her, his eyes fixed firmly on the tray of bacon in front of him. "Morning."

"Nice of you to join us." Remus muttered from behind his book, a single cup of black coffee sitting in front of him.

"Whaddayamean?" Sirius asked indignantly, his voice muffled through a mouth full of food.

"What he means is-" James snapped, throwing down his forkful of food. "We have a match in twenty minutes and you didn't even bother to show up to practice this morning."

Sirius gulped down his food and raised an eyebrow. "To be honest, mate, I didn't think anyone would show up."

"Why not?" James frowned, clearly hurt by the comment.

"The Prewett twins have got 5-1 odds on Ravenclaw- _and they're Gryffindors_." Sirius shrugged. "Who's going to get up at 5am on a Saturday to practice for a Quidditch match that we're pretty much set to lose?"

"Me!" James cried angrily, slamming his glass of pumpkin juice down on the table.

"Me." Marlene muttered tiredly, placing her head down on the table and closing her eyes. "Can we stop with the shouting? My head is killing."

"Well, we all know why that is-" Lily began with a reproachful eye from her seat beside James but she quickly shut-up as she saw the dangerous look Marlene was giving her.

"You two don't count." Sirius interrupted quickly, ignoring Lily and Marlene. "You're the captains, you don't have a choice."

" _I'm_ the captain." James corrected. "She's the vice-captain."

Marlene rolled her eyes as she sat back up. "Look Potter, I do most of the work, so you can cut the whole 'vice-captain' shit."

"She's not wrong." Peter pointed out quietly, nibbling on a piece of toast. "She did organise the try-outs, booked the pitch for practice every week, plan the end of year team party-"

"Yes, _thank you Wormtail_." James frowned, turning back to his breakfast. Marlene noticed he had gone a slightly greenish shade as he pushed the half-eaten plate away from him.

"Just relax, James." Lily soothed, placing a hand on James' arm. "It's your last match, go out and enjoy it."

"That just makes it worse." James moaned, putting his head in his hands. "I can't lose to Ravenclaw on my last ever match."

"We'll be fine, James." Marlene said finally. "Whatever happens, we've still got a crate of firewhiskey waiting for us in the Common Room tonight."

The thought of getting pissed on firewhiskey seemed to perk James up; he lifted his head from his hands and nodded a little more enthusiastically. "Yeah. Right, come on then."

James clambered to his feet, gulped down his pumpkin juice and kissed Lily on the cheek. "See you in the stands, Evans?"

Lily blushed slightly, but nodded with a small smile which only seemed to boost James' morale up even further. When it came time to go, James practically bounded out of the Hall and towards the Quidditch pitch, Marlene and Sirius followed, though not quite as enthusiastically, whilst Lily, Remus, Peter and Dorcas said that they would follow on later.

"He's cheered up." Sirius muttered moodily, as he and Marlene lagged behind.

Marlene watched as James cheerfully threw his broomstick over his shoulder. "It's unnatural to be that cheerful at this time of the morning."

"I just want to go back to bed." he groaned, resting his head against Marlene's shoulder.

"Tell you what," Marlene grinned. "If we win -"

Sirius laughed, "Not bloody likely-"

"-I might even come along with you."

Sirius' eyes twinkled as he leaned in to kiss her; she offered him a suggestive smile before quickening her pace and walking ahead.

"You're a tease, McKinnon." Sirius called after her. "You're all talk."

"Win and find out, Black." she called back, turning round to look at him. He barked a laugh before blowing her a kiss which she pretended to catch before turning back around and sprinting off to the changing rooms, a smile fixed firmly on her face. 

The start of the match was promising; James had scored twice, their fifth year Keeper seemed to have become a pro-player overnight and Marlene had knocked two Ravenclaws off their brooms already.

Marlene frowned as she saw the seventh year Ravenclaw Seeker, Cork, heading for the Snitch, her hand outstretched as she got closer. The stadium held their breath and Marlene was certain that Cork had no idea what was about to happen.

With a powerful swing of her bat, Marlene sent a Bludger flying through the air at breakneck speed, towards the Ravenclaw Seeker. It hit its target with a dull thud and Cork had to struggle to stay on her broom, by time she had regained her balance, the Snitch had disappeared. The Gryffindor stadium erupted in cheers whilst Cork scowled and flew off in search of the Snitch once again; this time keeping a close eye for Bludgers.

"Nice one, McKinnon!" James called out to her with a wide grin.

Marlene grinned back and turned to look for Sirius, who was speeding towards the hoops with the Quaffle tucked securely under his arm. He barely dodged a Bludger as he threw the Quaffle through the left-hand hoop.

Marlene cheered as James flew to high-five Sirius. She turned to look for Peter, Lily, Dorcas and Remus in the stands and found them all cheering loudly in the front row; Remus had even put his book down.

As she looked back at Sirius, she noticed he had flown down from the hoops and was now hovering near the Ravenclaw stand, talking to a group of sixth-year girls that had gathered at the forefront. Suddenly, she felt her heart drop; as though in slow motion, Sirius raised his hand from his broom and blew one of the prettier girls a kiss which she quickly reached out for and 'caught', she brought it to her own lips and Sirius grinned. It was like a Bludger had hit Marlene in the stomach; she felt sick.

Then she heard the laughter. She turned to see the two Ravenclaw Chasers whispering to each other; their gazes fixed firmly on Marlene as they giggled between themselves, every so often glancing over at Sirius.

Rage fired up inside of her; before she could think about what she was doing, she lifted her bat and swung it, hard, sending the Bludger flying towards where Sirius was hovering. It was on course to hit his head when it suddenly flew out to the left, as though a particularly strong gust of wind had hit it. Marlene spun round in bewilderment and found the reproachful gaze of Lily Evans glaring back at her from the stands, her wand raised.

Marlene felt an unexpected surge of relief that her Bludger had not hit its intended target, however as she looked back towards Sirius, her relief was cut short by the look of hurt on his face. He knew what she had tried to do.

"Sirius-" she tried to call after him, but he had soared off in to the air without a second glance, his anger evident. "Shit."

The rest of the game was uneventful with Ravenclaw finally winning by ten points; as they touched back down on to the pitch, Marlene headed straight for Sirius.

"Sirius!" she called, struggling to catch up to his long strides. "Sirius, wait!"

"Fuck off, McKinnon." Sirius muttered coldly.

"Sirius, I'm sorry-" Marlene began, however the words stuck in her throat as the image of him flirting with the pretty Ravenclaw floating back to the surface of her mind. "No, wait, fuck that, it's not just me that needs to apologise!"

"I said, fuck off." Sirius repeated, not even bothering to look round at her. James, who had been walking beside him, began to look uncomfortable.

"Will you just wait and listen to me!" Marlene yelled angrily.

At this, Sirius finally turned to face her; his usually delicate features were distorted with rage, his dark eyes seemed to spit fire as he glared down at her. "Why don't you just aim another Bludger my way, that should get my attention."

"I'm sorry, the Bludger was a stupid thing to do." Marlene said quickly, her face turning slightly pink. "I was upset, Sirius, you were flirting-"

"So?" Sirius asked coldly, his features had returned to their usual mildly bored expression. "You don't own me, McKinnon."

Marlene felt as though someone had poured icy water down the back of her Quidditch robes; his words were like punches to the gut. She let them sink in before taking a deep breath and steadying her voice.

"Glad that's cleared up, Black." Marlene said quietly. "I'll leave you to it in future."

Sirius didn't answer but his expression remained unchanged, she waited for a moment, hoping to see some flicker of remorse but none came. She pushed past him, not daring to look up at James, before disappearing in to the girls' changing rooms.

The Gryffindor Common Room had never been so packed; students of all ages were jammed in to every bit of space available. The sofa and armchairs had disappeared under the number of people perched on them.

Drinks ran freely from the numerous crates they had purchased the weekend before in Hogsmeade and their effects were becoming more and more obvious; younger students fell first, one fifth year went down on their first shot, whilst some of the seventh years staggered round with a distant expression on their faces.

Marlene looked around the room, she was almost tempted to go straight up to bed but the need for a strong drink was greater. She grabbed the first full bottle of firewhiskey she saw and downed half its contents in one go; wincing as it burned the back of her throat.

"Should pace yourself."

Remus smiled at her from the fireplace, his elbow resting on the mantelpiece and a large glass of butterbeer clasped in his hand.

"I'd watch out for that stuff if I were you." Marlene warned mockingly, gesturing towards the butterbeer. "Can knock you out if you're not careful."

"I'll keep that in mind." Remus answered, almost seriously. "I heard you and Sirius had a fight?"

Marlene shrugged. "Don't think you could call it a fight."

"How come?" Remus asked.

"He just cleared a few things up for me." she replied flatly.

Remus frowned and took a quick sip of his butterbeer, looking thoughtful. At that moment, James and Sirius came crashing through the portrait hole, staggering with laughter, both clutching bottles of Muggle beer. Marlene watched Sirius as he put his arm around Peter, still laughing, and looked over in her direction. It was as though she was invisible. She could feel rage begin to prickle up within her once again.

"Alright, ladies, we have arrived." Sirius announced, slurring his words as he winked at the girl stood in front of Marlene.

"Marlie..." Remus warned softly. "He's drunk. Ignore him."

Marlene took another swig out of her firewhiskey and turned her back on Sirius, breathing deeply as she tried to keep her calm. She felt the alcohol numbing her mind as she pressed her lips back against the bottle and felt the sudden urge to get completely and utterly trashed. 

It was almost 3am and the last few dregs of the party-goers were finally disappearing up to their dormitories, only ten or so people remained. Remus had stayed with her all evening, with Lily joining them both at midnight, when Marlene had convinced him to have a 'proper' drink.

Although Remus had only had, at most, three swigs of her bottle, he seemed unable to form a sentence. As Lily tried to help him to his feet, it was clear that he was also unable to stand. Marlene jumped up with the intention of helping, only to fall back down beside a giggling Remus.

"I think I'm drunk." Remus hiccupped.

Marlene laughed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Remus Lupin, _drunk_? I've never heard of such a thing."

Lily gazed down at them disapprovingly, a small smile tracing her lips. "You're both drunk."

"Oh, come on, Lil'." Marlene grinned. "Let your hair down, be a bit wild for once!"

"I'm _wild_ sometimes." Lily answered, looking slightly affronted. She swiped the bottle from Remus' grasp and took a long swig out of it, spluttering and coughing as it hit the back of her throat.

"Head Girl gone wild!" Remus announced to the room, earning several startled stares.

"Shut-up!" Lily laughed, placing a hand over Remus' mouth as she sat down beside him on the floor.

They sat with their backs against the sofa, their legs stretched out towards the fireplace; Marlene rested her head on Remus' shoulder whilst Lily did the same on the other side. She felt oddly content in that moment, despite the day's events, she was happy to be surrounded by friends. Especially when she reminded herself that after next week, there would be no more common-room parties or Hogsmeade weekends.

Not long after, Sirius came staggering towards them with his arm around a blonde fifth-year's waist. Marlene pretended not to notice, but the sight had made a lump form in her throat, she kept her gaze on the fire before her. Remus suddenly grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently.

"Right, I think it's bedtime for me." Lily announced, scrambling to her feet.

"Me too." Remus sighed, as Lily held out a hand to help him up. "I don't hold much hope for getting up those stairs though."

"I suppose you could sleep down here." Marlene suggested, gesturing to the empty sofa.

"Probably safer." Remus nodded, crashing face-down upon it without any further invitation, within seconds they could hear him snoring.

"You're a bad influence, Marls." Lily laughed, throwing a blanket over Remus' lanky figure.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Marlene smiled mischievously.

Lily rolled her eyes with a smile. "Goodnight, Marlene."

"Night, Lil'."

Marlene shifted herself up on to an armchair, feeling a wave of tiredness begin to wash over her; suddenly, her eyelids became heavy and the warmth of the fire was making her want to curl up and go to sleep. She had only just began to drift off when-

"Marlene?" a voice asked. "Marlene McKinnon?"

"Mhmmm?" Marlene answered sleepily, opening her eyes to see a blurred figure.

"Sorry to disturb you, it's just- well, I saw you play today and you were bloody fantastic."

The figure slowly became clearer until she could make out that he was a sixth-year; she had seen him in the common-room a few times but they had never spoken. She tried to remember his name, Alistair-

"Alistair Prior." he smiled, sticking out an enthusiastic hand.

Marlene shook it hesitantly. "Well, Alistair, thank you."

"I hope I'm not bothering you." Alistair said, raising an eyebrow.

"Not at all." Marlene smiled kindly, sitting up straight. "So, do you play?"

"I'd love to but I'm not too good on a broom." Alistair laughed. "More of a spectator, really."

Marlene smiled, suddenly noticing his slightly rugged good looks. "I'd say come to my next one but I'm afraid that was my last match."

"That's a shame." Alistair said. "Have you never considered playing professionally? You're good enough."

Marlene laughed. "I'm alright, but I don't think I'm Holyhead Harpies material just yet."

"I don't know, the way you played today looked pretty professional to me." Alistair shrugged. "Fancy a drink?"

Suddenly, Marlene felt as though her throat had been filled with sand. "I could really do with some water actually."

"Oh, there's some cups over here." Alistair said, gesturing over into the corner of the room where a mountain of cups sat abandoned on one of the bookshelves. He picked one up and pointed his wand into it. "Aguamenti!"

The plastic cup filled with water, Marlene almost snatched it out of his hands in her desperation. She felt the coolness of it slide down her throat and breathed out in relief. Alistair re-filled her cup a few more times and she gulped each glass down. "Thanks."

"No problem." Alistair answered with a shrug, he was beginning to look blurry again now that she was away from the fire-light. He was staring at her intently and leaning in slowly, his hand was sliding around her waist like a python coiling around its victim.

"Uh-sorry, I'm not-" Marlene began to object, pulling away, however his grip remained vice-like on her waist and his other arm was resting against the wall, blocking her exit.

"Come on, _I like you_." Alistair murmured, leaning in closer so that his nose was almost touching hers. "Don't pretend you're fussy, I've heard all about you."

"Look, Alistair, I don't know what you've heard but I'm not-"

He suddenly pressed against her, pushing her back against the wall as he tried to kiss her. She let out a muffled cry of protest and attempted to push him away, his hands were now grabbing at her bum, his fingers digging in to her skin so hard she was sure he would leave bruises.

Suddenly, as though a bull had simply come tearing through the common room and straight in to Alistair, he was thrown off of her and into the wall behind them with skull-fracturing force. It took Marlene a second to digest the scene; Sirius was stood with one hand around Alistair's throat, his expression murderous. "You don't touch her."

His other hand was raised in the air as though to hit Alistair squarely in the face, although Sirius seemed to think better of it and hit the wall behind him instead. Marlene watched, terrified, as Alistair began to turn purple.

"Sirius, let go!" Marlene cried, as Alistair's eyes began to roll back into his head.

Within seconds, James had pulled Sirius off Alistair, guiding him away with calming words. As Sirius released his grip for Alistair's throat, Alistair slid down the wall like a rag doll and into a heap on the floor. They waited, but he didn't move. Marlene looked from Alistair's seemingly lifeless body to Sirius' bleeding knuckles. "What the fuck have you done?"

Sirius stared back at her, looking as equally terrified. "I think I've killed him."


	3. Chapter Three

_**Order of the Phoenix Headquarters, February 1978**_

"We've only been here ten minutes and I'm already considering dropping out." James muttered miserably from beside Sirius.

Sirius grinned. "Well, what did you expect?"

"Oi- Potter, Black- if you want to have a mother's meeting you can do it somewhere other than here." Mad-Eye growled at them from the front of the room.

"Sorry, Moody." James and Sirius chorused sweetly, which earnt a small grunt.

"He's a charmer, isn't he?" Sirius muttered moodily, pulling a face at Mad-Eye's back.

"Careful, they say he's got eyes in the back of his-"

Suddenly, the door behind them swung open, revealing the dark-haired woman who had been stood in the hallway. "Don't lurk behind doors, McKinnon. It's how you get yourself blown up." Moody snapped, putting his wand away.

Marlene smiled lazily. "Sorry, Mad-Eye."

Sirius stared at her with wide eyes, he had to double-check his mouth wasn't hanging open. He hadn't seen her since graduation last July. Mad-Eye gestured grumpily to a chair between Lily and the Prewett twins which Marlene took happily; before she sat down, she took a quick scan of the room and Sirius could have sworn he saw her grey eyes hover over him momentarily.

"Now that everyone has bothered to show up." Mad-Eye started, with a quick glance over at Marlene who raised an eyebrow as though to say ' _who, me_?'. "We'll get started. So, there are five main rules to know about the Order. One, no Unforgivable Curses, you'll have to use your imagination if you want to catch Death Eaters. Two, whatever is said in this room, stays in this room. Three, no messing around-"

"I'm sorry Mad-Eye, but I'm going to need you to be more specific with that one-" James interrupted, earning a snigger from Sirius and a frown from Lily.

"And four, if you want out, tell me now, or else forever hold your peace." Mad-Eye finished. The room was silent, no-one made a movement. "Right, that's all sorted then."

"Sorry, Mad-Eye." Lily piped up. "But I thought you said there were five rules? That was only four."

"So, I did, Evans." Mad-Eye nodded with a dark look.

"Go on then." Sirius said. "What's the fifth rule?"

"Stay alive." 

"Marlene!" Sirius called.

As the meeting drew to a close, Sirius could see Marlene at the other end of the room, heading towards the door with Gideon Prewett. She turned; her dark hair flicking out as she looked around the room. Sirius raised an arm and waved, regretting it instantly as Marlene caught his eye.

She whispered something to Gideon, who nodded and carried on towards the door, before making her way towards where Sirius was stood. As she got closer, he noticed she looked older than the last time they had met in the Great Hall.

"Sirius." Marlene said, smiling. "It's been a while."

"It has." Sirius nodded, his throat suddenly went dry. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. Just finished my Healer training." Marlene said softly. "You?"

"That's great. Er- yeah, I'm alright." Sirius shrugged, struggling to meet her eye. "I didn't realise you'd be here."

"Gideon asked me to come." she said hesitantly. "We're dating now."

"Oh." Sirius said, trying to keep his voice level. "Er- congratulations I suppose."

"Thanks." she smiled half-heartedly. "Well, it was nice to see you, I better-"

"Yeah me too." Sirius said flatly.

Marlene paused, looking uncomfortable. "I'm over it, you know- what happened at the party. It was horrible but he- Alistair- was okay and well, at least Dumbledore still let you graduate."

"Oh, yeah. No, I'm over it too." Sirius said quickly. "It was a long time ago."

"Good." Marlene nodded. "You've got a habit for beating yourself up about stuff."

"Do I?"

"You know you do." Marlene smiled, a real warm smile. Sirius let himself smile back.

"It's nice to see you, McKinnon." he grinned.

"You too, Black." 

At the Potters that evening, Sirius looked down at his plate full of food as Lily laid it in front of him and smiled. "Thanks, Lil'."

"Yeah, thank you, Lily." Remus nodded, from the seat opposite Sirius. "Looks lovely."

"Delicious!" Peter beamed, already tucking in.

"It's no problem." Lily laughed, James kissed her cheek as she took her seat beside him. "Got to feed my boys."

The room fell silent as everyone made a start on their dinners and it stayed that way until almost every last bite had gone.

"I heard you spoke to Marlene after the meeting today?" Lily asked, turning to look at Sirius carefully. "How was she?"

"She looked good." Sirius said, gazing absent-mindedly at his dinner. "Just finished her Healer training."

James frowned. "She's dating one of the Prewett twins now, right?"

"Yeah." Sirius said flatly. "Gideon."

"Oh." Lily said, sounding surprised.

"I was thinking of asking her to go for a drink." Sirius blurted out suddenly, regretting the words as soon as he saw the look Lily shot James.

"I- I don't think that's such a good idea, Sirius." Lily said softly. "She's dating Gideon now-"

"As friends." Sirius added quickly. "Just to catch up."

"As far as I remember," Remus sighed, looking up from his dinner. "You two have very different ideas of _friends_."

"Fine then, I won't ask." Sirius muttered moodily. "Was just an idea."

"I'm sorry, mate, but after what happened last year. It might just be best if you stay away from each other." James frowned, looking uncomfortable.

Sirius didn't answer, he went pack to pushing the remainders of his dinner around the plate with his fork. He thought back to that night in the common room, perhaps they were right, the last time they had been together he had nearly killed someone and Marlene had tried to knock him off his broom. The image of Marlene, stuck in the corner, with that sixth-year's hands all over her still made his blood boil.

" _What the fuck have you done?"_

 _Sirius felt terror fill him as he looked at the lifeless heap on the common room floor, he glanced up at Marlene, who was staring at him with wide-eyes. "I think I've killed him."_

 _He could feel James' arms still wrapped around his chest, holding him back. His knuckles were stinging from where they had hit the rough stone only moments before._

" _Someone should go get Madam Pomfrey." Remus said as he hurried over from the sofa, he knelt down beside Alistair, pressing his fingers against his neck and pausing momentarily. "He's alive."_

 _Sirius felt as though he might collapse from the relief. "He's alive." he repeated breathlessly._

" _I'll go get Pomfrey." Peter piped up, running off towards the Portrait Hole._

 _Sirius looked back at Marlene, her eyes were still wide as she looked from Alistair's crumpled body to Sirius's bleeding knuckles. She met his eyes with a fearful look that he had never seen before, it made him want to hide with shame._


	4. Chapter Four

_**Unknown location, October 1978**_

"Ready?"

Marlene didn't answer but tightened her grip over her wand and nodded. With a loud _crack_ they disapparated.

What came next could only be described as the feeling of being thrown out of the sky in gale-force winds; Marlene felt as though she was being stretched and pulled in every direction possible, the loudness of it all deafened her, there was no one spot to focus on as she was just spinning uncontrollably.

And then, silence.

Marlene looked round at the scene that surrounded her; they were on a beach, but it was night-time and cold, waves crashed over the sand and only just touched the tip of her toes before retreating. She looked up at the night sky that engulfed them like a blanket of stars. It wasn't quite what Marlene was expecting for a first mission from the Order.

She looked over at Sirius, who looked nervous as he looked back at her. Even through the pitch-black of night, she could still make out the curves of his face as his eyes glinted through the darkness.

"Not what I was expecting." Peter whispered, snapping Marlene back to reality, she could see his silhouette shaking.

"Me neither." Sirius said darkly. "Keep your wands out, something isn't right here."

Marlene and Peter stood back-to-back with their wands held up, their eyes scanning for any movement in the darkness. All was silent, but Marlene could feel the tension building in the air, as though a silent drum-roll was playing in her chest.

 _Crack!_

Marlene blinked and suddenly they were surrounded on all sides, the hooded figures wasted no time in sending curses their way. Sirius jumped into action, flicking Death Eaters out of the way as though it came as naturally to him as breathing. Peter was slower, clumsier, but he held his nerve. She began shouting the first hexes that came to mind, pointing her wand at anyone in her eyeline.

"Stupefy!"

"Flipendo!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The night sky was suddenly alight with colour as they fired off their chosen hexes and curses.

Sirius turned to Peter. "Go! Warn the others! We'll follow you back once we've cleared this lot up."

 _Crack!_

Peter had disappeared.

Marlene noticed Sirius seemed to be almost enjoying himself; he wore a smug smirk as he fought one-on-one with a Death Eater that Marlene felt she recognised, although she couldn't see their face. She squinted slightly, hoping that she might make out some defining feature through the darkness-

" _Marlene!_ " Sirius roared.

It was although the next few moments were in slow-motion; she could see Sirius turning to run towards her, his face frozen in fear. She saw the bright light coming towards her from the left but it was as though her feet were glued to the spot she stood on. She braced herself for its impact.

The curse hit her like a bus; knocking her off her feet and in to the air, she could feel the pain before she had even hit the ground. It is as though every nerve on her body had been set alight, she writhed in agony, struggling to even scream. As she landed on to the sand, she struggled for breath, her lungs felt bruised and sharp pain was stabbing at her chest.

"Crucio!"

There was no time to recover as another flash of light hit her, sending excruciating pain throughout her body. This time, she screamed.

"Marlene!" Sirius cried, sprinting towards her, tripping in the sand. "No, stop!"

"Crucio!"

Marlene gasped as another wave of pain crashed over her; she could see Sirius, he was almost at her side, she wanted to reach out for him but her body wouldn't obey. She could now see the familiar figure of Bellatrix stood over her, a wicked grin plastered on her haughty features. "Poor poor Marlene McKinnon." she cooed. "With no lover boy to save her."

Marlene watched in horror as a hex hit Sirius from behind, bounding him in thick ropes, he fell face forward in to the sand, only a few feet away from her. He turned his face towards her, spitting sand out of his mouth and screaming her name.

Marlene focused on the figure behind him, the one she had thought she recognised earlier, his hood had fallen down and she could see him more clearly now. Regulus Black. He wore the same proud look as Sirius, and had the same high cheekbones and dark hair, but he was skinnier and less filled-out. He looked terrified. ' _He's just a child._ ' Marlene thought to herself.

"Crucio!"

Although she could still feel the pain as the curse hit her, again and again, she had lost the ability to make noise or move or do anything at all. So, she simply stared forward, her eyes fixed on Sirius, studying every detail of his face as he screamed loud enough for the both of them.

It felt as though she had been lying there for hours, she was sure she was either mad or dead. Sirius had stopped screaming a while ago; he had been staring back at her, tears running thick and fast from his eyes.

 _Crack!_

The beach fell silent. Marlene could no longer see flashes of red light reflected in Sirius' eyes.

"They're gone." Sirius murmured hoarsely, his eyes never wavering from her own, the ropes that had held him were now slowly disappearing. "You're okay, they're gone."

Marlene wasn't sure whether her face had shown her relief, she wasn't sure she could move anymore. She could only just feel the sand against her cheek where she laid, curled up. Her whole body was numb.

"Please, Marlene, say something." Sirius begged, his voice hardly louder than a whisper, his own cheek also pressed against the sand, he stretched out his free arm and touched the side of her face.

She desperately wanted to say something, anything, but her lips just couldn't form the words, so she continued to stare forward with empty eyes. Sirius bit back a sob before scrambling to his feet and scooping her up in his shaky arms.

 _Crack!_

She felt the familiar sensation of falling as she breathed in Sirius' scent, her nose buried in his shirt. She could feel herself drifting off but his voice pulled her back every time.

"You're okay." he said shakily. "You're okay."

Suddenly, they were back in headquarters, Marlene could hear the distant chatter from the kitchen, or at least she thought she could, her mind was becoming fuzzy now. Her eyelids were getting heavy-

"HELP!" Sirius screamed. "Help us!"

She wasn't sure whether she could stay awake, but she needed to, he needed her to stay awake. Her head lolled back in his arms as she fought with herself to keep her eyes open-

"What's happened?" Lily cried in panic as Sirius placed Marlene down on to the floor, he couldn't stop the flood of tears from falling as he knelt beside her.

"You said you'd be following me straight back here." Peter said, his eyes wide. "I wouldn't have left if I- if I knew-"

She wanted to tell Peter it was okay, it wasn't his fault, but the very idea of moving her mouth to form the words made her feel sick. She kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling, too scared to move a muscle in case she began to feel the pain she knew was coming. But Lily was here now, Lily would fix her-

"Is she… dead?" Remus gasped, she felt his warm hand land on hers.

' _Am I dead?_ ' she thought to herself, she wasn't sure, she could be, everything was so hazy, it was though the light was fading in the room-

"Marlene, can you hear me?" James asked, his voice sounded so far away. Was Sirius still crying? She could hear crying.

' _I can hear you_ ' she wanted to scream, but everything was going dark so quickly-

"Marlene…"


	5. Chapter Five

_**Sirius Black's Apartment, March 1979**_

Sirius could see Marlene stood in front of his front door, shivering; as she reached for the knocker, her hand paused in mid-air. He couldn't stop the pool of guilt from gathering in the pit of his stomach, he had called her over _again_.

Ever since the mission last October, his nerves had been a wreck, nightmares plagued his sleep and he often woke up in a cold sweat. From what he could tell, Marlene was the same, although when Gideon was away on missions, she wouldn't sleep at all, instead she would spend her evenings pacing the floors of Sirius' apartment, praying that he was safe. That was how it had been since Sirius invited her over to talk one evening last November, it had been nice to speak to someone who understood what they had gone through.

Since that first invitation, she had spent most weekends at Sirius's apartment whilst Gideon was away on missions with Fabian and the other Order members. It was a good distraction, although they decided early on to keep their meetings a secret. They mainly talked; sometimes about Hogwarts, sometimes about missions, rarely about anything serious.

She arrived at his flat within an hour of him sending his owl. He watched her carefully while leaning heavily against window, as she stood in front of the door-knocker with her hand raised in mid-air, took a deep breath and knocked.

Sirius made his way down the stairs, crashing into walls as his legs failed to hold his weight; he had been drinking since early afternoon and was quite frankly surprised he was still standing at all. As he struggled to unlock the door, he could almost feel her presence on the other side; he pulled the door open to reveal a cold-looking Marlene, wrapped up in her coat and scarf.

"Took your time Black. I'm freezing my tits off out here." Marlene huffed, looking him up and down. He was aware he probably looked a mess; he had been wearing the same shirt and trousers for the past three days, his usual stubble had grown in to a small beard and his eyes were bloodshot and sore. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay." Sirius said, he could hear the slight slur in his voice.

"Are you- drunk?" Marlene asked, a hint of laughter in her voice, she raised a reproachful eyebrow.

"Maybe a lil'" Sirius admitted, leaning heavily against the door. "Come in."

"Thanks." Marlene grinned, slipping past him and heading up the stairs. "You better have left some for me."

Sirius didn't answer but he suddenly felt better; her presence always made things better. He followed her up the stairs, clinging on to the bannister for dear life, to find her in the kitchen finishing off the last few drops of firewhiskey.

"It appears not." Marlene frowned, checking the cupboards for extra supplies.

"Sorry." Sirius mumbled.

Marlene looked up at him, fresh concern flooding her features. "Are you sure you're alright? You look like you haven't touched your shower in the last week."

"Charming." Sirius muttered, slumping back down on to the sofa. "Showers are overrated."

"And in your case, _underused_." Marlene said, wrinkling her nose. "Has something happened?"

Sirius couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. "Moody still won't let me back on missions."

"So that's why you're sulking?" Marlene asked with a sigh. "He doesn't think you're ready, and judging by state of you tonight, I don't think you are either."

"I can't just stay holed up here." Sirius said angrily, he had expected her of all people to understand. He could feel his voice rising. "Everyone's out there risking their lives and I'm doing fuck all."

"Sirius, _you're not ready_." Marlene said softly, placing a hand on his knee as she sat down beside him.

"What does You-Know-Who care about being ready?" Sirius bellowed, jumping up from his seat. His face flushed red. "He's going to kill us all either way."

Marlene frowned. "What's got into you?"

"It's just fucking pointless." Sirius snarled.

"Look, Black." Marlene said, her tone suddenly cold. "I didn't come here tonight for a fight."

"Oh fuck off." Sirius muttered.

Marlene watched him for a moment, as though she was waiting for an apology, before jumping to her feet and storming towards the door. Sirius was surprised at how quickly he reacted, he managed to slam himself against the door just as she reached to open it.

"Move." Marlene hissed.

"No." Sirius snarled.

"What is your fucking problem?" Marlene yelled.

"My problem?" Sirius roared back. He threw his fist hard against the door, making it shudder. "I'm sick of this stupid war, that's my problem."

"It'll be over soon-"

"No, it won't!" Sirius screamed, making Marlene jump. "You think all this will be over soon? This is it. This is the rest of our lives. Going on pointless missions and waiting to hear who's dead next."

"Don't say that-"

Sirius felt as though he might explode with rage, he pushed the cabinet that stood beside him, the photo-frames that had adorned the top of it went crashing to the floor. He knew he was scaring her, but he couldn't stop himself. His rage was flooding his mind and body, engulfing him entirely.

"Sirius, stop-" Marlene cried, jumping to her feet.

Sirius grabbed the coffee table and threw it across the room, it hit the wall opposite with a loud bang, one of the legs breaking off. He then pointed his wand at the pile of dishes that had been gathering beside the sofa and began destroying them, one by one, until the carpet was completely covered, like a jigsaw of china pieces.

Marlene watched him, her eyes wide. He couldn't help but be reminded of that night in the common room and the fear in her eyes. The memory stopped him dead in his tracks and he suddenly noticed her hands were shaking. They stood there for a few moments in silence before Sirius collapsed into the sofa behind him.

"I'm sorry." Sirius breathed heavily, feeling his shame wash over him. "I'm so sorry, Marlie."

Marlene stayed silent, her eyes fixed firmly on Sirius.

"Regulus is dead." Sirius managed to say between deep breaths, the words made his chest ache. "Dumbledore owled me this morning."

Marlene paused momentarily, as though considering his words, before stepping forward and taking a seat on the arm of the sofa, beside Sirius. She pulled him in towards her, wrapping her arms around his neck. Sirius relaxed against her as his tears finally began to fall. She tightened her grip on him, pressing a soft kiss against his tear-stained cheek. He felt his breathing steady at the touch of her lips as she continued, kissing any bare skin she could find, his tears wetting her cheeks.

"It's okay." she murmured into his ear, brushing his dark curls away from his face and planting a kiss against his neck.

His arms snaked around her waist and pulled her on to his lap, closing the gap between their bodies. He tilted his head so that his forehead was now pressed against hers, his proud nose touching the tip of her button-like one. "Marlie…" he said softly.

"It's okay." she repeated, tilting her face upwards so that their lips brushed gently, she cupped his wet cheeks with her hands as her warm breath tickled his nose.

"Marlie…" he repeated, more firmly now, looking at her sadly. Her dark hair fell in strands over her face, partially hiding her eyes from view, he reached up and gently tucked it behind her ear. "We can't."

Marlene lowered her gaze, keeping her forehead pressed against his. "I want to."

" _We can't_."

Marlene still didn't pull away, she kept her hands cupped around his face, his arms stayed wrapped around her waist. "I just want to sleep."

Sirius paused, thinking over her words; the idea of sleeping alone tonight was too much to process. He nodded and they both stood up; Sirius leaning heavily on Marlene as they made their way towards his bed.

She pulled off her coat and scarf, draping them over the chair in the corner of his bedroom, before kicking off her boots. He threw her an old black t-shirt, with the Order of the Phoenix emblem sowed on to the front and looked away as she pulled off her top and jeans. When he turned back round, she was stood in his t-shirt; it only just reached half-way down her thighs and it took his breath away all over again.

She pulled her hair out of its low bun; it cascaded down in loose waves, reaching the lower section of her back in length. She suddenly looked much younger than she did in the Order meetings.

Sirius pulled off his own top and jeans and pulled a fresh t-shirt on over his boxers, never taking his eyes off Marlene. They climbed into his unmade bed and he pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her middle; her forehead was pressed against his lips, her lips against his chest, her right hand resting on the side of his face, their knees and toes touching.

"Goodnight." Marlene murmured sleepily.

"Goodnight, Marls'."


	6. Chapter Six

**X**

 _ **Order of the Phoenix Headquarters, December 1979**_

"Oi, Moody!"

"What now, Potter?" Mad-Eye grumbled, turning to face the room with a frown.

"So, was that a definite no to the whole 'Death Eater Zoo' idea earlier, or just a maybe?" James asked with a grin. "It'd be a great money-maker. Charge a galleon a ticket, you'd be rolling in it!"

Sirius barked a laugh. "Yeah, Mad-Eye, imagine all the eyes you could buy."

"Every colour of the rainbow." James added seriously.

Sirius noticed Remus attempting to suppress a smile while Peter laughed hysterically. He turned to look for Marlene who was grinning widely from the other side of the room, seated between a laughing Gideon and Fabian.

"Very funny, Potter." Moody growled. "I'm sure your sense of humour will come in handy next time you're surrounded by highly skilled Death Eaters wanting to disembowel you."

James's grin slid off his face and he lowered his head, looking slightly embarrassed.

Mad-Eye continued explaining his plan for the next mission; it would be in the New Year he told them, only nine could go. Almost as soon as the words came out of his mouth, several hands flew into the air. Sirius could have sworn he had almost seen Mad-Eye smile. "No volunteers this time."

There was a collective moan across the group.

Mad-Eye picked out a piece of parchment from his cloak. "Potter, Black, Evans-"

"Potter, actually." James corrected smugly.

"Whatever. McKinnon, Prewett one, Prewett two, Lupin, Fenwick, Meadowes."

Sirius grinned, it would be his first mission in almost eight months and he was itching for action, he looked round at Marlene again but this time she wasn't smiling. Her face had lost colour and he could see her hands shaking in her lap.

"Right. Well, I'll see you after Christmas I suppose." Mad-Eye nodded.

"If that's everything, Mad-Eye-" Gideon piped up, Moody grunted in agreement. "Well, we've actually got an announcement of our own."

Sirius noticed Marlene smile nervously as Gideon stood up in front of the room, his hand tightly entwined with hers. "We're engaged."

The room erupted into cries of congratulations; Lily and Dorcas ran forward and enveloped Marlene in a hug, James, Peter and Remus took turns shaking Gideon's hand. Sirius simply sat, staring forward, he felt as though he had been punched in the gut.

"Oh, that's such lovely news!" Dorcas gushed.

"We're really happy for you both." Remus smiled widely.

"Thanks, thanks…" Gideon beamed. "Well, we're having a small get-together tonight at ours if you can make it. Nothing big, just a few drinks."

"Of course!" Lily smiled. "We'll be there."

Marlene tried to catch Sirius' eye, but he could barely stand to look in her direction, he stood up and muttered a 'congratulations' before heading outside for a cigarette. It didn't take long for Marlene to find him.

"You alright?" she asked, lighting up her own cigarette.

"Just dandy." Sirius said coolly.

"What's wrong?" Marlene asked, turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow. He knew that she knew exactly what was wrong, but he was damned if either of them were going to say it.

"Bit inappropriate isn't it?" Sirius asked, knowing he was being cruel. "Having a wedding in the middle of a war."

"Probably." She said, taking a drag of her cigarette. "That's why we're not having it until the war is over."

Sirius felt his heart lift slightly at her words. "You're not?"

"No." Marlene said, frowning. "Though I don't know how that is any of your business-"

"Sorry." he said, trying to hide his smile.

Marlene didn't answer, she looked down at the floor, but he could see her cheeks lift, when she looked up again, her face was deadly serious. "You'll be there tonight, right?"

Sirius hesitated. "Uh-"

"Please." Marlene said, her eyes fixed on him.

"Yeah. I'll be there." Sirius nodded. "But, I think you should know-"

"McKinnon?"

Sirius and Marlene both turned towards the doorway where Mad-Eye was now stood. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" Mad-Eye continued. "Privately."

Sirius felt a pang of annoyance as Marlene nodded and began to make her way back into the house, she paused in the doorway, turning back towards him with a smile.

"Tell me tonight," she said. "I'll find you!"

Sirius arrived late to the party, not particularly wanting to go in the first place but also not wanting to break his promise to Marlene.

Gideon's house was a quirky looking place; an old, Tudor-style cottage that looked as though it was leaning heavily to one side. Gideon and Fabian lived there together, Marlene had only moved in recently. Sirius assumed it had been passed down from their parents after they died.

"Padfoot!" James exclaimed, slapping Sirius on the back with a grin. "You made it."

"Glad you could come, Black." Gideon nodded, shaking his hand with a smile. Sirius forced a smile back before disappearing to find himself a drink, hoping to spot Marlene along the way.

"She's not here." Remus said softly, his eyes following Sirius' desperate scan of the room.

"Er- who?" Sirius asked, feigning surprise.

"Marlene." Remus answered, with a knowing look. "That's who you were looking for, right?"

"Yeah." Sirius admitted. "Where is she?"

"I don't know." Remus said. "Nobody's seen her all evening."

Sirius frowned. It wasn't like Marlene to miss out on her own party. "I'll go check outside, maybe she's having a cig."

Sirius made his way outside, struggling to push through the herds of people that now crowded the narrow hallways. He heard a couple call out to him but didn't look back; he wasn't in the mood for small talk.

He needed to talk to Marlene. He needed to tell her the truth; to tell her that she shouldn't marry Gideon, that he still- Sirius almost tripped as his feet collided with a small huddled up body on the outside front steps of the doorway. "Ow!"

"Marlene?" he said uncertainly.

"That hurt!" Marlene slurred angrily, rubbing her shoulder. Even in the faded light, Sirius could see her puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"You alright?" he asked, seating himself down beside her.

"Mhmm." she murmured, placing her head on his shoulder and offering over her cigarette.

"You don't look it." He replied, resting a hand on her wet cheek and brushing away a tear.

At his words, Marlene suddenly burst into a fit of tears, her chest heaving as she gasped for air, she pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in his coat.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Sirius soothed, shocked by the sudden outburst. "It's alright, Marlie."

This only made Marlene sob harder, she put her head in her hands and he could tell she was struggling to catch her breath. "Marlene, it's fine-"

"My parents are dead." she finally managed to gasp out. "So no, _it's not fucking fine_."

Sirius felt as though icy water had been poured over him as the words settled on his mind, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled him up to so that they were face to face. "W-what?"

"They're dead." Marlene whispered shakily, her face stained with black mascara tracks.

"But why didn't Moody-" Sirius started, his eyes wide.

"Presumed." she interrupted quietly, her grey eyes darkening like storm clouds. "That's what the Ministry are saying anyway. Mad-Eye's certain though. They're dead, dead, _dead_."

Sirius felt as though his breath had been knocked out of him, he simply stared at Marlene in shock, his lips forming words that his voice couldn't make. He could tell that she was drunk, drunker than he had ever seen her, but she wouldn't make this up. She couldn't make this up.

"Do you want to tell the others?" he asked finally.

"The Ministry have said that that would be _counter-productive_." Marlene said coldly, slurring her words slightly. She clambered to her feet, Sirius stood up to steady her. "They don't want us storming in to the investigation and messing things up."

"But why-" Sirius started, a small ball of fury beginning to form in his stomach.

Marlene didn't answer but the look in her eye told him everything he needed to know. He suddenly noticed her bare shoulders shaking in the cool night air and quickly wrapped his leather jacket around her. "Let's go back inside."

"I don't want to."

"Come on, Marlie." Sirius pleaded. "It's cold out here."

"Just fuck off, Black."

"Marlene-" Sirius said softly, he tried to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her towards him.

"I SAID FUCK OFF." Marlene screamed, shoving him, hard.

Sirius stumbled backwards and fell, landing against the steps they had been sat on moments ago and groaned slightly. Marlene froze, staring at Sirius before fumbling desperately in the pockets of his jacket that she was wearing. She didn't stop until she had pulled out a set of keys, without a second's wait, she stormed off into the darkness, leaving Sirius bewildered. Suddenly, her plan became clear and Sirius scrambled to his feet, sprinting after her.

"Shit." He muttered to himself, trying desperately to catch up to her. "Marlene! No!"

She never even turned, he could just about make out her shape in the distance, climbing on to his motorbike. The engine roared to life and Sirius yelled after her, sprinting so fast he thought his lungs might collapse. She had just kicked off when Sirius managed to wrap his arms around her waist and drag her from the bike, they fell to the floor in a heap as the motorbike sped off and crashed into the fence in front.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Marlene screamed hysterically. "Get off of me!"

Sirius clung tightly to her, his arms still wrapped around her waist, as she punched at every inch of him she could reach. Finally, exhausted, she settled into sobbing on to his shoulder.

"Shh." Sirius soothed, placing a hand on the back of her head as she buried her face against him.

They laid on the floor for a few minutes until Marlene's breathing had calmed and he was sure she wouldn't run off again. As they struggled to their feet, Sirius could finally feel the damage from their fall. His jeans were torn over his right knee, revealing a bloody leg beneath, his shoulder was already turning purple from where he had hit the hard concrete. He examined Marlene, but all she had was a small graze on her left arm.

They hobbled back to the house, Marlene half-carrying Sirius to the front door. As they reached the front steps, Gideon and Fabian came bounding outside. Sirius couldn't help but notice how insanely happy Gideon looked, his beaming smile was so wide it could have split him in half. However, as his eyes landed on their approaching figures, his smile disappeared, replaced instead by a look of terror.

"Are you alright?" Gideon called to them, running to meet them. "What happened?"

"We're okay." Marlene muttered, as Gideon took over as Sirius' support and Fabian took the other side. They sat him down on the steps and turned back to Marlene.

"Was it Death Eaters?" he asked quickly. "Where were they?"

"No, it wasn't Death Eaters." Marlene replied tiredly. "I-"

"I crashed my bike and was lucky enough that Marlene saw the whole thing." Sirius cut her off. "It was stupid really, I shouldn't have tried to drive."

Lily, James and Peter came running out of the house. "Did someone say Death Eaters?" James asked, his wand already out.

"No, no Death Eaters, I'm afraid." Sirius sighed. "Just me."

"Well, what happened?" Lily asked concernedly, her eyes landing on his bloodied leg and ripped clothing.

"He crashed his bike." Fabian answered with a frown.

"Your bike?" Lily asked, her eyes wide. "You mean to tell me, Black, that _you tried to drive a motorbike after drinking?_ "

Sirius winced at her tone. "Stupid, I know."

" _Stupid?_ That wasn't just stupid, Sirius. That was moronic." Lily cried. "You could have been killed! Or killed somebody else! What, in the name of Merlin, were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking." Sirius replied.

"No wait-" Marlene said quickly, looking from Sirius to Lily in panic. "Lily, Sirius didn't-"

"I didn't think I'd had that much." Sirius said, cutting her off again. "Obviously, I was wrong."

"Well, what happened to your arm then?" Fabian asked, turning to look at Marlene.

"I-I tripped." she answered. "I was running to help Black and lost my balance."

Fabian looked unconvinced, whilst Gideon simply looked relieved, he wrapped an arm around her bare shoulders and kissed cheek. "At least you're both alright."

"More importantly, is the bike alright?" James asked urgently, he was swiftly met with a whack on his arm by Lily. "I mean- well, what I meant to say- not that you're not _important_ \- it's just-"

"I don't know, I didn't look." Sirius admitted. "It's over there." He added, gesturing to the field ahead of them.

James ran off in the direction Sirius had pointed to, quickly followed by Peter and Fabian. They returned a few moments later, levitating Sirius's bike. It was scratched but not too badly damaged, nothing that couldn't be fixed.

They organised that Sirius would stay with Lily and James for tonight and leave the motorbike where it was until they could come back in the morning to collect it. Sirius wasn't too keen on leaving his bike in the open all night but the look on Lily's face told him that he didn't have much choice.

Whilst James went to grab their port-key and Lily rushed off to find Marlene's Healer kit, Sirius met Marlene's eyes and offered a reassuring smile, she lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze.

"I'm glad you're alright, mate." Gideon smiled, patting Sirius on the back as he made his way back inside with a chuckle. "Maybe next time just call a cab, yeah?"

Sirius smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah."

"You comin', Marls?" Gideon asked, gesturing back inside to the dying embers of the party.

"In a minute." Marlene answered with a smile. Gideon nodded and disappeared into the house.

They sat there in silence for a few moments, Marlene's eyes fixed on Sirius's feet. "Thank you." she whispered.

"Don't worry about it." Sirius answered with a shrug.

Marlene nodded, pushing herself to her feet, she went to walk past him on the steps and paused momentarily. She lent down and kissed his cheek gently, cupping his face with a cold hand, before disappearing back in to the party.

Sirius sighed and began to clamber to his own feet, groaning in pain as he put weight on to his damaged leg. He was just about to head inside when a quiet voice called out to him.

"You need to leave her alone, Black."

Sirius turned, his hand reaching for his wand, to see a plumpish figure in the doorway. He squinted slightly and could make out the woman's long red hair and well-worn clothes.

"Molly?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It'll all end in tears, Sirius." Molly warned. "Let her move on."

Sirius didn't answer, he pushed past her with a frown and made his way over to where James, Lily, Remus and Peter were standing in the corner of the room, each with a finger placed on the cracked teapot they were stood around.

"C'mon mate!" James urged. "It'll be going soon!"

Sirius joined the circle, placing a finger on to the spout of the teapot.

"Three..."

Sirius turned to look around at the room, but Marlene was nowhere to be seen.

"Two…"

He craned his neck and only just managed to catch a glimpse of her long dark hair as she followed Gideon out of the room.

"One…"


End file.
